Part four

There was a time when everyone read newspapers. When I was younger I would only be interested in reading the sports section. My sister would read the popular culture section and my parents would read the whole paper cover to cover.

This was after the time of partisan newspapers here in Iceland and my family subscribed to the biggest publication in the country, Morgunblaðið. Back then I did not realize that someone was editing the news, picking and choosing what stories should be published. I have come to realize that editing from a neutral point of view is tricky business. Editors always seem to have media owners breathing down their necks. In order to protect and promote certain interests the news are reported in distinctively various ways.

Davíð Oddsson, Iceland’s longest serving prime minister and former leader of the Independence party, was controversially appointed editor of Morgunblaðið in 2009. Mr. Oddsson had previously been the head of Iceland’s Central Bank and had been heavily criticized for mismanagement in the run up to the country’s banking crises. Mr. Oddsson was extremely unpopular as the head of the Central Bank as you can see by clicking this link.

In a chapter on media in the report Alþingi’s investigation committee created on the banking crises, the decision to hire Mr. Oddsson is questioned;

The appointment of Mr. Oddsson, former prime minister and head of the Central Bank, as editor of Morgunblaðið and the dismissal of many experienced journalists goes to show how owners can domineer over their media if they so choose. Their agenda seems to be to protect special interests rather than to practice professional and fair coverage. It is a tragic sign of Icelandic discussion customs that these comments have not lead to an objective debate on the state of Icelandic media in these treacherous times.

It has been reported that Morgunblaðið lost many subscribers after hiring Mr. Oddson as people wanted to protests his appointment. Someone even created a Facebook page to object this decision.